Lower garment assembly with suspender device

ABSTRACT

A lower garment assembly includes a lower garment, a suspender device for suspending the lower garment, and attachment elements provided on an inner surface of the lower garment in alignment with a crotch section of the lower garment. The suspender device includes a waistband portion adapted to fit around the waist of a user, and at least two suspending portions extending downwardly and respectively from front and rear sides of the waistband portion and attached to the respective attachment elements so that the suspending portions are aligned with the crotch section. The suspender device can be configured to resemble a thong to expose the midriff of the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a lower garment assembly, more particularly to a lower garment assembly with a suspender device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Pants, shorts, skirts, culottes, and the like which are generally worn at or below the waistline are referred to herein as lower garments. Hereinbelow, the present invention is exemplified using pants as examples. In general, pants are held in position at or below the waistline using belts or elastic bands provided at the waist portion of the pants so as to prevent undesired downward slipping of the pants. Suspender straps are also used to help keep pants in position. However, although conventional suspender straps ease the constraining feeling imparted by belts, they do not always go with fashion wear.

Nowadays, it becomes a trend for young women and teenagers to wear low-rise or low-cut pants for both catching up with the hip-hop style and sense of popularity. That is, the pants are worn inches below the waistline or slung low on the hips. However, as the part of the body at the hips is comparatively wide, low-rise pants cannot be properly held in place even with belts, and may need to be pulled up from time to time to prevent undesired slipping and exposure, which is inconvenient, especially for young people doing extreme sports, such as extreme skateboarding, that require agile movements of squatting and twisting, etc.

Fashionistas like to wear low-cut pants, midriff shirts, and thong underwear to expose their midriff. Nevertheless, wearing low-rise pants is inconvenient, as mentioned above, and there have been warnings that prolonged wearing of thong underwear is not good for health.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a lower garment assembly with a suspender device that will not affect the appearance and comfort of a lower garment and that can prevent undesirable downward slipping of the lower garment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lower garment assembly with a suspender device designed to resemble thong underwear.

Accordingly, a lower garment assembly of this invention includes a lower garment having a covering portion that is adapted to cover the pelvic region of a user and that includes front and rear parts, a crotch section connected to the front and rear parts, and at least two attachment elements disposed respectively on inner sides of the front and rear parts and aligned substantially with the crotch section; and a suspender device including a waistband portion adapted to fit around the waist of a user and having front and rear sides, two spaced-apart suspending portions connected respectively to the front and rear sides of the waistband portion, and fastening members that are secured respectively to the suspending portions and that engage removably the attachment elements; wherein the waistband portion is spaced apart from the lower garment, the suspending portions extend into the lower garment and are aligned substantially with the crotch section, and portions of the suspending portions are exposed from the lower garment.

A lower garment of this invention is adapted to be suspended by a suspender device including a waistband portion adapted to fit around the waist of a user, two suspending portions extending downwardly and respectively from the waistband portion; and two fastening members secured respectively to the suspending portions. The lower garment comprises: a covering portion adapted to cover the pelvic region of the user; a crotch section connected to front and rear parts of the covering portion; and a fabric strip sewn to the front and rear parts and the crotch section along a plurality of substantially parallel stitch lines that are spaced apart from each other along the length of the fabric strip, the fabric strip providing eyes each of which is defined between two adjacent ones of the stitch lines and which are used as attachment elements for attachment of the fastening members to the covering portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the first preferred embodiment of a lower garment assembly according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the second preferred embodiment of a lower garment assembly according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the second preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the first preferred embodiment of a lower garment assembly according to the present invention is shown to include a lower garment 2 and a suspender device 3. In this embodiment, the lower garment 2 is exemplified as a pair of low-cut shorts including a covering portion 21 adapted to cover the pelvic region of a user 1, a crotch section 22 connected to bottom ends of front and rear parts 211, 212 of the covering portion 21, and attachment elements 23 that are provided on inner sides of the front and rear parts 211, 212 and the crotch section 22, and that are aligned substantially with the crotch section 22. The lower garment 2 further includes a fabric strip 230 sewn to the inner surface of the lower garment 2 along a plurality of substantially parallel stitch lines 231 that are spaced apart from each other along the length of the fabric strip 230. Specifically, the fabric strip 230 is sewn to the inner sides of the crotch section 22 and the front and rear parts 211, 212 of the covering portion 21. The fabric strip 230 thus provides a plurality of the attachment elements 23, which are configured as eyes each defined between two adjacent ones of the stitch lines 231, and which are aligned with the crotch section 22.

The suspender device 3 includes a looped waistband portion 31 adapted to fit around the waist of the user 1, a first suspending portion 32 and a second suspending portion 33 extending downwardly from front and rear sides of the waistband portion 31, and two fastening members 34 secured respectively to bottom ends of the first and second suspending portions 32, 33. Each of the fastening members 34 is connected removably to one of the attachment elements 23. The waistband portion 31 in this embodiment is in the form of an elastic band, and is adorned with lace. The first and second suspending portions 32, 33 extend downwardly and respectively to the front and rear parts 211, 212 of the covering portion 21 from the waistband portion 31. In addition, the fastening members 34 in this embodiment are conventional fastening hooks for hooking the attachment elements 23, but may be in the form of buttons, Velcro® tapes, and the like, without being limited thereto in practice. Correspondingly, the attachment elements 23 may be button eyes, Velcro®tapes, and the like for engaging the fastening members 34, without limiting the invention thereto.

Thus, before putting on the low-cut lower garment 2, the user 1 causes the fastening members 34 to engage respectively the attachment elements 23 on the lower garment 2. After the user 1 has put on the lower garment 2, the waistband portion 31 is spaced apart from the lower garment 2, the first and second suspending portions 32, 33 extend into the lower garment 2 and are aligned substantially with the crotch section 22, and portions of the first and second suspending portions 32, 33 are exposed from the lower garment 2.

In addition, since the attachment elements 23 are arranged on the front inner side of the covering portion 21, the crotch section 22, and the rear inner side of the covering portion 21, the attachment elements 23 run substantially longitudinally along the crotch section 22 and the middle of the front and rear parts 211, 212 of the covering portion 21, which usually have stitched seams (not shown) that are stiffer than the other parts of the covering portion 21. Attaching the first and second suspending portions 32, 33 to the covering portion 21 at the stiffer stitched seams thereof will not create undesirable creases on the covering portion 21 at the points where the fastening members 34 are attached to the attachment elements 23 when the covering portion 21 is suspended by the suspending portions 32, 33 in use. Furthermore, due to the provision of a series of the attachment elements 23, the fastening members 34 can be brought to engage the attachment elements 23 at different positions to permit adjustment of the distance between the waistband portion 31 and the lower garment 2.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the second preferred embodiment of a lower garment assembly with a suspender device according to the present invention is substantially similar to the first preferred embodiment in structure. The difference resides in that the waistband portion 31 of the suspender device 3 is in the form of a narrow elastic band, and the first suspending portion 32 is formed from a soft fabric cut into a triangular shape. In other words, the suspender device 3 is made to resemble the upper portion of a thong when worn with the lower garment 2. This embodiment allows the user 1 to expose the midriff of the body without incurring the problems associated with wearing thong underwear. Furthermore, the suspending portion 32 can be made to have a relatively large area so as to extend farther downward. It is noted that, while the lower garment 2 is exemplified as a pair of shorts in the above-described embodiments, it can be in the form of a pair of pants, a skirt, or the like, without being limited thereto.

In sum, with the provision of the waistband portion 31 and the suspending portions 32, 33 together with the fastening members 34, the lower garment 2 can be held securely on the lower body of the user to prevent possible slipping of the lower garment 2 and undesired exposure. Besides, the suspender device 3 can be made to resemble a thong to expose the midriff of the user without causing discomfort or health damage associated with conventional thong underwear.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. A lower garment assembly comprising: a lower garment having a covering portion that is adapted to cover the pelvic region of a user and that includes front and rear parts, a crotch section connected to said front and rear parts, and at least two attachment elements disposed respectively on inner sides of said front and rear parts and aligned substantially with said crotch section; and a suspender device including a waistband portion adapted to fit around the waist of the user and having front and rear sides, two spaced-apart suspending portions connected respectively to said front and rear sides of said waistband portion, and fastening members that are secured respectively to said suspending portions and that engage removably said attachment elements; wherein said waistband portion is spaced apart from said lower garment, said suspending portions extend into said lower garment and are aligned substantially with said crotch section, and portions of said suspending portions are exposed from said lower garment.
 2. The lower garment assembly according to claim 1, wherein said lower garment further includes a fabric strip sewn to said crotch section and to said front and rear parts of said covering portion along substantially parallel stitch lines that are spaced apart from each other along the length of said fabric strip, said attachment elements being configured as eyes each defined between two adjacent ones of said stitch lines.
 3. The lower garment assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of said attachment elements is formed as a fabric loop, and each of said fastening members is formed as a hook.
 4. The lower garment assembly according to claim 1, wherein said lower garment is formed as a pair of low-cut shorts.
 5. A lower garment adapted to be suspended by a suspender device including a waistband portion adapted to fit around the waist of a user, two suspending portions extending downwardly and respectively from the waistband portion; and two fastening members secured respectively to the suspending portions, said lower garment comprising: a covering portion adapted to cover the pelvic region of the user; a crotch section connected to front and rear parts of said covering portion; and a fabric strip sewn to said front and rear parts and said crotch section along a plurality of substantially parallel stitch lines that are spaced apart from each other along the length of said fabric strip, said fabric strip providing eyes each of which is defined between two adjacent ones of said stitch lines and which are used as attachment elements for attachment of the fastening members to said covering portion. 